Dear Mason Music Family,

We are so very excited for our upcoming concerts next week featuring our Dewberry School of Music ensembles.  Please purchase your tickets now for our Mason Symphony Orchestra concert on Wednesday October 11 at 8 pm in our Center for the Arts.  Directed by Dr. Soo Han and Michael Stern with works by Ortiz, Mozart, and Beethoven, this thrilling concert also features Prof. June Huang, violinist, and Prof. Nana Gaskins Vaughn, violist. 

We are eagerly anticipating Jazz4Justice on Saturday, October 14 at 8 pm, as we celebrate the legacy of Distinguished University Professor Anthony Maiello. Featuring the Mason Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Prof. Jim Carroll, Jazz4Justice is an award-winning annual concert presented by Legal Services of Northern Virginia and Mason Jazz Studies.  Proceeds from the amazing not-to-be-missed concert benefit the Legal Services of Northern Virginia as well as providing financial support for the Mason Jazz Studies Department.

You will want to reserve next Friday night, October 13, 7 pm for Mason Madness featuring Doc Nix and the Green Machine at Eagle Bank Arena! An annual event that is the official kickoff of the Mason basketball season, the Green Machine Ensembles will perform a choreographed show that will be exciting indeed!

How thrilled we are to present Mason Opera Scenes on Monday, October 16, 8 pm, at Fairfax Old Town Hall (3999 University Drive). This special community outreach performance features Mason’s talented student artists in scenes from The Magic Flute, Così fan Tutte, Hansel and Gretel, Lakmé, Daughter of the Regiment, Carmen, and La Traviata. We are grateful for our faculty opera team: Prof. Richard Leech, Prof. Patricia Miller, Prof. Joe Walsh, and Dr. Eunae Ko Han.

Please join us for our Fall Choral Festival Songs of Unity on Saturday, October 21 at 4 pm in the Center for the Arts under the direction of Dr. Lisa Billingham. We are happy to welcome Chantilly High School and Oakton High School Guest Choirs in our Mason Fall Choral Festival.  

We hope to see you at our upcoming ticketed events and our many free concerts featuring our amazing Mason students. The support of our Friends of Music at Mason means so very much to our students and faculty.  

On a personal note, I was humbled to be inducted into the Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame on October 4 and 5 in New York City.  My heart is filled with gratitude for this honor and for the incredible privilege of teaching our beloved art form with the next generation of artists. 

With gratitude for the music,

Dr. Linda A. Monson, Director

Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music

Mason Symphony Orchestra

Wednesday, October 11 | 8 p.m.

Center for the Arts Concert Hall

Tickets: $12 General, $8 Senior, $5 Student

The Mason Symphony Orchestra opens the '23-'24 season led by Dr. Soo Han with a glorious celebration of the colors of human emotion. Conductor Michael Stern opens the concert with Gabriela Ortiz’s Kauyumari, a rhythmic and groovy opener, originally written as a triumphant post-pandemic return to the concert hall. Violin Professor and Director of Strings, Prof. June Huang, and Viola Professor Nana Gaskins Vaughn will join the MSO for Mozart’s joyful Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat. Lastly, Beethoven’s boisterous and energetic Symphony No. 7 will close the program.

This performance will take place in the George Mason University Center for the Arts Concert Hall on Wednesday, October 11 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are available online and at the door. Additional information and tickets are available at music.calendar.gmu.edu.

Jazz4Justice - Celebrating the Legacy of Anthony Maiello

Saturday, October 14 | 8 p.m.

Center for the Arts Concert Hall

In our 22nd annual Jazz4Justice we will team up with Legal Services of Northern Virginia to continue our mutual mission to do good in the community. We are honored to have Distinguished Professor of Music Anthony Maiello as our special guest conductor. We will also perform several of Professor Maiello’s arrangements for Jazz Ensemble including “The George Mason Shuffle.” Established in 2001 by Fairfax, VA attorney Edward L. Weiner, Esq. and Founder of Mason Jazz Studies, Jim Carroll, Jazz4Justice™ is an award-winning annual concert presented by Legal Services of Northern Virginia (LSNV) and Mason Jazz Studies. Jazz4Justice™ is a truly unique event where attorneys, judges, students, and members of the Northern Virginia community gather to celebrate their love of jazz. Proceeds from the evening benefit LSNV to continue its mission of service to the Northern Virginia community as well as providing financial support for the Mason Jazz Studies department for scholarships, trips, recordings and student projects.

On Friday October 13 at 7 pm, EagleBank Arena will be hosting Mason Madness, an annual event that serves as the official kick-off of the men’s and women’s basketball seasons. Each year, Doc Nix and the Green Machine perform a choreographed floor show that incorporates multiple Green Machine Ensembles as well as the Mason Cheerleaders, the Masonettes, and others. In previous years, the Green Machine has performed hits such as Welcome to the Jungle, Livin’ On A Prayer, and Before I Let Go. What is this years performance going to be? Come to Mason Madness on October 13 to find out!

MASON OPERA Scenes

Monday, October 16 | 8 p.m.

Old Town Hall 3999 University Drive, Fairfax

Free Admission 

MASON OPERA opens its 2023-24 season with an exciting Showcase of Opera Scenes on Monday, October 16, 2023.

This special community outreach performance features Mason’s talented student artists in scenes from The Magic Flute, Così fan Tutte, Hansel and Gretel, Lakmé, Daughter of the Regiment, Carmen, and La Traviata. We are grateful for our faculty opera team: Prof. Richard Leech, Prof. Patricia Miller, Prof. Joe Walsh, and Dr. Eunae Ko Han.

Save the date - Monday, October 16th, 8 pm Old Town Hall- and bring family and friends to enjoy scenes and ensembles from the world’s most beloved operas! 

Fall Choral Festival

Saturday, October 21 | 4 p.m.

Center for the Arts Concert Hall

Free Admission

The Fall Choral Invitational is an annual event that this year will bring Chantilly and Oakton high school choirs to campus for the opportunity to create community by taking part in choral clinics and performing on stage with the Mason Choral Department under the direction of Dr. Lisa Billingham.

The diverse repertoire selected for the concert, “Songs of Unity” includes selections from a wide variety of choral traditions.

Preview: October 19 at 8 p.m.

October 20-21 at 8 p.m.

October 22 & 29 at 8 p.m.

Harris Theatre

Tickets: $35 adults; $15 students and senior (Preview: $15)

9 To 5, The Musical is based on the seminal hit movie set in the late 1970s. This hilarious story of friendship and revenge in the Rolodex era is outrageous, thought-provoking and even a little romantic. Pushed to the boiling point, three female coworkers concoct a plan to get even with the lying, sexist man they call their boss; and, in a hilarious turn of events, they live out their wildest fantasy by giving him the boot!

9 To 5, The Musical is presented through special arrangement with the Music Theatre International (MTI). Musical direction is provided by Prof. Joe Walsh.

The Dewberry School of Music is pleased to offer String Day on Saturday, October 28, 1-4 p.m. This event is open to string players, aged 12 and older. Bring your instrument and work with Mason faculty in instrument-specific classes. All activities will take place in the deLaski Performing Arts Building on the Fairfax campus. Mason Strings faculty include June Huang, violin, Nana Vaughn, viola, Gerald Fowkes, cello, Jessica Powell Eig, double bass and Soo Han, ensembles.

Dr. Linda Apple Monson was inducted into the Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame on October 4 and 5 in New York City.

The Steinway & Sons Music Teacher Hall of Fame is a prestigious designation recognizing the work of North America's most committed and passionate piano educators.